Multi-use gaming machine

ABSTRACT

A multi-use gaming machine is switchable between playing a game native to the machine and for interactive play of a game taking place at a remote location has a common video display for displaying the results of the game being played by a player at the machine. The machine includes a touch screen corresponding to a betting grid of the game taking place at the remote location by which wagers can be placed on the remote game and a computer that determines winning and losing wagers and maintains a running account balance for the machine. The machine also can be used for tournament play with a number of machines where there is a data processor manager, a counter that sets a predetermined number of games for the tournament, a communication link by which the data processor obtains and stores the running account balances of all of the machines after completion of a game, the data processor determining the tournament winner based on only one machine having a running account with a positive balance prior to the completion of the predetermined number of games or the machine having the highest balance after completion of the predetermined number of games. Data of the machine having the highest account balance is also provided to all of the machines after each game.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Video gaming machines, such as slot machines, poker, wheel of fortuneand other types, have replaced the well-known mechanical type machineson the floors of most casinos. More and more people are playing videogaming machines because they are easy to learn, require little or noskill and provide relatively large returns. While such machines areusually profitable for the casino owner, they present some limitations.First of all, the number of such machines that can be used in a casinois limited by one or both of space and/or regulatory considerations. Inthe latter case, the State in which the casino is located limits thenumber of machines that can be located in any one area or in the entirecasino premises.

Such video gaming machines are basically dedicated devices in that theypermit playing only of a programmed, or native, game. In the case of avideo slot machine, this usually is a number of video wheels of numbersor symbols, operated based on a random number generator, that aredisplayed on a video screen. Other types of video gaming machines havethe desired display and the components to play the game. It would bedesirable to enable such gaming machines to play other types of games sothat play would not be limited to only the native game. This wouldenhance the casino revenue stream.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention expands the versatility of such video gamingmachines by making them useful for playing games on a live andinteractive basis with games, such as roulette, poker, baccarat andcraps, being played at the casino. In accordance with the invention, theconventional video gaming machine is modified or new machinesmanufactured so as to serve a second purpose, that of a remote terminalfor viewing and interactively placing wagers on a live game played at acasino or some other location.

The multi-use gaming machine of the invention has the conventionalapparatus that permits it to operate to play the native video game inthe normal fashion. The machine is also provided with the capability ofcertain its components being switched so as, for example, receive anddisplay video and play audio of a live table or other type of gameplayed at a casino or similar location. The machine can either be on thecasino premises or at a remote location. To be capable of being switchedover from its normal native game operating mode to one of interactiveplay with a live casino type game, the video gaming machine is providedwith a touch screen to serve as a grid for placing wagers. The machinewhen operating in the interactive mode permits wagering which canutilize some or all of the principles of the wagering system and methoddisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,834, which is assigned to the assigneeof this application and whose disclosure is incorporated in its entiretyherein by reference.

The modified video gaming machine has a microprocessor that isprogrammed to perform various computation functions. It also can storedata such as a table of odds corresponding to the casino type game to beplayed at the machine. This can be the same microprocessor used tooperate the machine native game that is suitably programmed or aseparate microprocessor. A communication link is provided between thecasino game and the machine and the machine receives video of the livetable action and displays this using the video display provided for themachine's native game.

The machine also preferably receives a signal from the table game whichopens a time period during which a wager can be placed and a signalwhich closes the betting period. The player at the machine watchesactual bets being placed at the table by the live participants andwatches the game being played. Upon the proper time of a game resultbeing generated at the table game, such as the ball in a roulette gamedropping into the number pocket, the game result is transmitted to theremote machine. If the game result is a win, the machine microprocessorwill compute the winning amount. If the game is odds related thecomputation is based on a stored odds table.

The microprocessor operates such that winning amounts are credited tothe player's account and losing wagers are deducted and an accountbalance for the machine is kept on a running basis. In the case of amulti-stage game, such as poker or blackjack, a result is transmitted ateach outcome time at which a wager can be placed. Additional wagers madeduring game play are deducted from the player's account at the machineand the player's account credited with winning and losing amounts at theclose of the game.

The multi-use machine of the invention can be used on a stand alonebasis. It also can be used in tournament type play in which a pluralityof players each have a machine at which wagers are placed as all of thetournament players watch the live games. For tournament play, themachines participating in the tournament are in communication with adata processing unit that serves as a manager by determining thebalances of the accounts of all of the tournament players, locking outplay of any player whose account has a zero balance and declaring thewinning player when only one of the account balances is positive and/orat the end of a series of a predetermined number of games. In apreferred embodiment of tournament play, the data processor provides allof the machines in the tournament with information of the amount that iscurrently in the lead so as to give players information to develop abetting strategy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become moreapparent upon reference to the following specification and annexeddrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of the multi-use video gaming machine of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of game play apparatus at the casino;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of a plurality ofmachines for tournament play; and

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the tournament play.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the multi-use gaming machine 100 of theinvention. There is a cabinet or housing 102 that is either of thestand-alone or table mounted type. The machine is illustratively onethat has a native game of video slot machine playing. A mechanical leverarm 106 is mounted to the outside of the housing for actuation by theplayer to play a game. A video display screen 104 is mounted in thehousing that displays the native. In the video slot machine examplebeing described, this would be a display of three or more video reels.Other types of video gaming machines would have the appropriate displaysand necessary electronic components, for example, black jack, poker,wheel of fortune, Texas Tea, or any other conventional game played at acasino. FIG. 1 shows the display 104 with the machine in interactiveplay mode, which is described below.

The housing 102 contains the necessary conventional electronics forplaying the native game and operating the video display 104 therefore.This includes, in the case of a video slot machine, a microprocessor andrandom number generator (not shown) for generating the results of a playon the display screen 104 and for controlling slot machine play andpayoff. Machines having other types of native games would contain thenecessary compatible apparatus, usually including a suitably programmedmicroprocessor.

Also shown is a slot 124 for a coin mechanism by which the playerdeposits coins and a bill (currency) acceptor 122, which also can acceptbar coded vouchers having monetary value. The player deposits coins,currency or vouchers sequentially and plays a game after each depositeither by operating the lever 106 or using electronic access to play anew game by pressing a button 128. There can be other buttons, such asto signal an attendant and for other standard functions. The machinealso can be configured to accept a bill or voucher that establishes abalance in the machine against with the player draws as he plays.

The machine has an output tray 126 which gives the player the payoffwhen the play is a win. The machine also can be provided with thecapability to track awards such as the player making a certain number ofplays or betting or winning a certain amount. Many machines have aseparate reader (not shown here) to accept a card issued by the casinothat is inserted into the reader to keep track of game play. The machinealso can issue coupons, such as by a printer, for complimentary awardsbased on game play at the machine. All of the above is well known andconventional.

Added to the conventional machine so far described is a communicationlink and interface 39 to the casino game play, as described below withrespect to FIG. 2. There also is a touch screen 130 that will enable theplayer to place wagers on the live game that is being playedinteractively. The touch screen has a betting grid section 130 a thatcorresponds to the table betting grid of the live casino game. Forexample, if the game is roulette, the touch screen grid 130 acorresponds to the roulette table. It is preferred that the touch screenbe replaceable to accommodate a variety of casino type games, such aspoker, baccarat, wheel of fortune, etc. The touch screen also has a keypad section 130 b for numerical entry of an amount of a wager as well asEnter and erase touch pad keys 130 c and 130 d. Operation of the touchscreen for interactive game play is described below. Keys of the touchscreen 130 also can be configured to be used for various aspects ofnormal slot machine play, such as activation of play of a game, in placeof the standard push buttons. A conventional common grid type touchscreen combined with or having an integrated programmable andelectronically controllable video overlay for the different game bettinggrids and other features and functions can be used and is preferred.

The machine 100 also has a switch 142 by which the player selects use ofthe machine either for standard video slot machine play or for liveinteractive play. The machine preferably also has a card reader 146 ofthe magnetic or optical type, or a combination of both, into which theplayer inserts and removes a debit or credit card or a voucher to addfunds to his account and to make other account transactions. The cardreader 146 preferably also can accept a player unique identificationcard if this feature is to be used.

The machine 100 can be used at any location on or off the casinopremises. Suitable communication between the casino and the machine isprovided by any conventional communication medium such as hard wiredcable, DSL telephone line, wireless or satellite. The communicationmedium has the necessary bandwidth to carry the video, including digitalhigh definition televison (HDTV), the betting status signals, gameresult data and audio if this is used. The machine input interface 39splits video and audio information and one or more betting statussignals received from the casino into two streams for use as describedbelow.

FIG. 2 shows the setup at the location, such as a casino game floor,with which a machine 100 is to communicate when in the interactive playmode. There is illustratively shown a conventional roulette table 10that is in common use at a casino. The table also could be another game,such as poker, blackjack, baccarat or craps. Here, for purposes ofillustration, the roulette table 10 has the usual wheel 12 that is spunby a croupier and into which a ball is dropped at the beginning of thegame. A betting grid 13 is on the table, the grid containing the usualformat of squares or rectangles with a number in each and other betareas such as odd/even numbers, and red/black. A number of players standor sit around the table 10. A player makes one or more bets by placingone or more chips of a given denomination on a number, intersection ofcorners, on red/black, combinations, etc. All of this is conventional.

Shown located above the table is a video input 14, which can be one ormore cameras preferably of the full color type. The cameras can behidden, as are many cameras in a casino used for surveillance purposes,or can be of the stand alone visible type if, for example, the presenceof the remote play feature is to be advertised. The field of view ofeach camera can be set to be limited to any part of the table andparticipants and/or can be remotely controlled by an operator. It ispreferred that the cameras do not show the chips of the players at thetable since this might influence the wagering of the remote players. Theoutput cable 16 of the video section is shown. A microphone 15 having anoutput cable 17 are shown to pick up sounds around the table 10.

Also associated with the table 10 is a control box 18. This is to beused to indicate specific status points of a game during its play, suchas start and the close of betting for a game or a wager point in a cardgame. The control box can be actuated in a suitable manner such asmanually or voice actuated by the croupier or card dealer. It also canbe actuated from a remote location such as by an operator who monitorsplay at a table. In a preferred embodiment the control box 18 can beassociated with physical devices such as, for example in the case ofroulette game, a box or tray sensor T in which the game ball B is placedand which has a sensor such as micro switch, optical device, or othertype of sensor. In use, for example, placing the ball in the box 18triggers a signal that indicates the start of betting for a new game andremoving the ball from the box to place it in the wheel triggers asignal that the betting for the game is terminated.

There also is a result input device 21 that supplies result data of thegame, such as the winning number and color in a roulette game or cardplay data in a card game, this data preferably provided in digitalformat. The game result data is input into the distribution device 20 bya suitable input device 21 This can be any one or more of a croupier ordealer actuated voice recognition system, keyed into a keypad at thetable or from a remote location. In another alternative, a camera isfocused on the roulette or other type of spinning wheel that convertsthe ball or wheel pointer winning number into digital format such as byoptical character type recognition. Card play data at various playpoints of the card game also can be recognized by a camera and convertedto digital format.

The video and audio output cables 16 and 17 and the outputs of thecontrol device 18 and result input device 21 are connected at thelocation to the type of broadcast distribution facility device or system20 that is to be used for the system. For example, if the interactivegame play is to be used only with machines on the casino premises ornearby, then this would be the input to a closed circuit TV system. Formachines at remote locations, if the video and other signal outputs areto be broadcast over the Internet, then there would be a suitabletransmitter such as by “streaming video”, or if to be by satellite orwireless then there would be communication such as by digitaltransmission including that suitable for HDTV. All of this isconventional.

Returning to FIG. 1, the machine 100 includes the necessary devices forinteracting with the play taking place at the casino as shown in FIG. 2.The machine 100 communication input interface device 39 receives thevideo and data signals originating from the table 10 by way of thecasino distribution device or system 20. When the machine 100 isswitched over for interactive play, the video display 104 displays thevideo of the pictures of the game, illustratively here the roulettetable, broadcast from the camera 16. The machine 100 already has orpreferably is provided with an audio module that has a speaker to playthe sounds picked up from the casino table microphone 15 and other audioinformation, as described below, when the machine is in the interactiveplay mode. The picture of the game being played at the table and thetable sounds are features that add to more realism for the player who isplaying the game remote from the casino table.

Machine 100 also includes a computer module 148 which has an internalmicroprocessor and a memory. The computer module 148 preferably is ofthe type that makes the terminal self-contained. Module 148 can be usedfor both play of the machine native game as well as interactive play orthere can be a separate computer module for each, the latter beingpreferred. That is, module 148 microprocessor has an application programthat can perform the necessary computation for winning and losing gamewagers and for keeping a running account of the wins and losses of theplayer. If the interactive game has an odds based payoff, then an oddstable of one or more games is stored in the microprocessor memory to beused in computing a winning amount.

Machine 100 has a communication interface 39 having an input/outputconnection 149. The connection 149 and interface 39 achieve reception ofthe various signals from the distribution system 20 as described aboveand preferably also permits bidirectional communication for otherpurposes, an example of which is described below.

The touch type screen 130 has a grid 130 a that corresponds to the gridat the betting grid at the casino table. For example, if the table gameis roulette, the touch screen would be a corresponding grid. The touchscreen also has a numeric keypad 130 b with the usual 0-9 numbers, anEnter key 130 c and a cancel key 130 d. The touch screen grid 130 apermits the selection of the type of bet, that is, straight number,combination of numbers, red/black and odd/even, by touching theappropriate spot or spots on the grid. When the player touches thedesired one or more places on the touch screen this is converted usingconventional technology into digital information for use by the computermicroprocessor 148. The player places the amount of the wager using thekeypad 130 b and confirms it by the enter key 130 c. The amount of thewager permitted from a machine can be less than the limit amount set atthe table. That is, remote players are nor restricted from playing inand can play along with high stakes games.

The machine video display 104 basically comprises several sectionsachieved by conventional video technology such as PIP (picture in apicture) or frame splitting, super-positioning or other conventionalvideo technology. The display 104 has a section 104 a that can displayinformation such as the odds for various bets and bet combinations. Thelatter type of information is available from the microprocessor 148 andcan be displayed continuously or only on demand. Video display 104 alsohas a section 104 b that displays wagering data entered on the touchscreen 130. A third section 104 c displays the account balance of theplayer.

The audio module of machine 100 also interacts with the computer module148. The audio module can be used to play information to help the playerplace his bets. For example, it can give messages of a new gamestarting, place your bet on grid number(s), place amount of bet, andbetting closed. Instead of the audio messages, the messages can bedisplayed on any one of the sections of the video display 104 and therecan be a combination of audio and visual messages.

In the operation of the machine 100 when switched to the interactiveplay mode, a player inserts money into bill acceptor 122 or inserts acredit or debit card or bar coded voucher corresponding to an amount ofcurrency into the card reader 146. The voucher can be of the typeobtained from an authorized source that controls distribution, such asdescribed in co-pending U.S. applications Ser. No. 10/941,541 filed Sep.15, 2004 and Ser. No. 960.147 filed Oct. 7, 2004, both of which areassigned to the assignee of the subject application. This opens themachine for play and the amount deposited is stored in the machinemicroprocessor 148 to establish an account and displayed on displaysection 104 c. The player then goes to the touch screen 130 and selectsa preferred wager, such as a number or numbers from the grid 130 a andan amount from keypad 130 b. The player touches the Enter key 130 c andthe selection data is entered into the microprocessor 148 memory. Theplayer can make multiple wagers, such as different numbers on theroulette table grid 130. Any part or all of a wager transaction can beerased or cancelled via the key 130 d before the machine receives aclose of betting signal from the casino table. If the game is of thesequence type, such as blackjack or poker, the player can placeadditional wagers at the appropriate betting points as the card gameprogresses.

To enhance playing, the base amount of a wager would correspond to acasino chip. For example, if a player opens an account for $100 and apreferred wager amount of $5, he would have the equivalent of twenty $5chips if actually playing at the table. A stack or stacks of virtualelectronic chips of the proper amount and values also can be displayedby the display 104 whose amounts and positions change as wagers areplaced and the games are played.

The casino transmits the video and audio of the game play. It alsotransmits the betting status signals, these being the start and closingof the betting or intermediate betting points in a card game and theresult data of the winning number or intermediate result data. This isreceived over machine communication connection 149 and by the machinecommunication interface device 39 and split into the appropriate streamswith the audio and video going to the audio output and machine videodisplay 104 and the betting status signals and game result data to themicroprocessor 148. The player is advised that a new game is to startand to place his bet. This message, either audio or visual, is triggeredfrom the control box 18 associated with the casino table 10.

The player views the progress of the actual table wagering and the playin process at the casino table on the display 104. The player enters hisbet via the touch screen 130. That is, he selects whether it is astraight number, combination or other type of bet. The type of betselected is displayed in display section 104 b. The player next entersthe number or grid intersection numbers if the bet is a combination.This is also displayed. The number, intersection, red/black or odd/evenbet also is displayed. The player then enters on touch screen pad 130 bthe amount of the bet, which also is displayed. The amount of the betalso can be displayed by showing the stacking of chips of the selectedamount at the proper location of grid 130. The chips that are bet areremoved from the player's stack of electronic chips.

The complete bet is displayed in display window 104 b. If it isacceptable, the player touching the Enter key 130 c. At this time thebet data is entered in the memory of the terminal computer module 148.If the wager is not acceptable to the player, the bet is cancelled bytouching the key 130 d. Keys 130 c and 130 d can be a part of the mainkeypad 130 b.

The player can place additional bets for the game, or part of asequential game, until a signal from the control box 18 at the casinosignals that the betting is closed for the game. In response to theclose of betting signal, the computer 148 at the terminal 100 is lockedout from accepting any more bets. During the time allotted for makingbets the player at the terminal can watch the live action of the playersat the table 10.

The game is played at the casino table 10 and the result, that is, forroulette game the winning number of the pocket into which the balldropped and its color, is sent from the casino distribution system 20 tothe individual machines. The microprocessor computer 148 at a machine100 uses the result information to compute whether there was a loss or awin. If a loss, the computer subtracts the amount of the bet from theplayer's account. If there was a win, the computer 148 computes theamount of the win. If the game has an odds based payout, this is basedon the stored table of odds in accordance with the odds of the type ofbet. That is, each of straight number and number combination havedifferent odds and red/black and odd/even have the same odds butdifferent from the number bets. The computer has a program that providesfor this calculation. The calculated win amount is then credited to theplayer's account. The current account amount balance is displayed in thedisplay section 114 c.

FIG. 3 shows use of the machines 100 in a tournament play scenario. Insuch a situation, and based on a set of rules, a number of players makean entrance fee purchase, play a specified number of games on which theyplace wagers and compete against each other as to the outcome. Theentrance fee can be deducted from an account amount existing on amachine or can be a separate amount placed in the account in the mannerpreviously described. The machine microprocessor also can maintain aseparate account section used only for tournament play. In tournamentplay the player having the highest money or point score, as the case maybe, remaining in his account at the end of the specified number of gamesis the winner. Often times the tournament winner receives a certainportion of the total entry fees and even a bonus amount if thetournament is a sponsored event, that is, a third party makes a prizeavailable.

In FIG. 3, a number of machines 100 are shown which can be at the sameor different locations. Each of the machines 100 can be used for play ina tournament and/or some of the machines can be spectators that view thetournament but do not participate in the game wagering. There can be asmany of the machines as needed or desired. Each machine has a uniqueidentification such as a number that is programmed into itsmicroprocessor. All of the machines 100 can communicate with a centralcommunication link 300, which can be real or virtual or a combination ofthese two. This can be by any suitable interface, such as cable,telephone line, wireless, Internet or any other suitable medium.

Each machine active in the tournament receives the video, wager statussignals and result data from the casino as described with respect toFIGS. 1-2. This can be accomplished through the link 300 or directconnection between the casino distribution system 20 and each machine100 such as by wireless, Internet based or any other conventionalcommunication method, as previously described. There can be acombination of both direct communication between the casino and themachines and communication via the link 300. That is, the communicationlink 300 can be an individual communication link for each machine 100 tothe casino audio/video output distribution system 20 or the casino cancommunicate only with a common link 300 and the terminals in turn areall connected to the link. In the case of direct communication betweenthe casino distribution system 20 and each machine, the link 300principally is used for tournament management by a data processor 310.Here also the link can be real or virtual.

There is a central data processor 310, which is a suitably programmedcomputer or microprocessor, that has two way communication with each ofthe machines 100. This can be direct communication between the dataprocessor 310 and each of the machines 100 or a common connection overthe link 300. The data processor 310 manages the play of the machines100 participating in the tournament. Data processor 310 includes or isconnected to a game counter in which is set, preferably from an externalsource, the number of games for a tournament and also of the number ofgames played in the tournament. The counter keeps count of andpreferably provides data to each machine of the number of gamesplayed/remaining. This data is displayed on the machine video section104 and/or used by the machine audio module to announce the game playnumbers. As an alternative, the microprocessor of each of the machinesis provided with a signal from processor 310 that sets a counter in themicroprocessor with the number of games in the tournament and thiscounter is updated after each game is completed to keep count of thetournament games played/remaining. Game counters can be provided at boththe data processor 310 and at each machine. The game count preferably ismade available at the casino and displayed for viewing.

Data processor 310 also obtains the running balances, which can be amoney amount or point score, from of all of the machines entered in thetournament after each game of the tournament is played. The processorhas a storage section in which all of the account balances aremaintained, similar to a ledger. The data processor 310 is programmed toperform all necessary functions and computations such as to determinethe winner of a tournament. This is done, as the case may be, based ondetermining when only one machine in the tournament has a runningaccount with a positive balance or point score prior to the completionof the predetermined number of tournament games or the machine havingthe highest balance or point score after the predetermined number ofgames has been completed.

After each game the data processor 310 preferably also transmits to allof the machines in the tournament the highest account balance or pointscore among the accounts of all of the machines. This can be displayedon the video display of each machine.

For tournament play with only remote machines, there are no players atthe casino table or people shown in the video of the table are onlyspectators. Players at the casino table 10 also can participate in thetournament either in a local group of only the players at the table orincluded with all of the players at the remote machines 100. In thelocal group case, each player at the table starts with a given amount ofchips and his account balance is shown by the chips remaining after eachgame is completed. Here, the tournament of the local group is separatefrom that of the remote machines. In the latter case, the balance ofeach player is determined after each game and provided to the dataprocessor This can be accomplished manually. However, a suitable devicefor automatically accomplishing this is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,875in which the number in each of stacks of different denomination chips ofa player is counted. From this count the balance of a player can becomputed and provided to the data processor 310 in digital format.Therefore, the accounts of players at the table will be considered inthe determination of the tournament winners. The description thatfollows includes the case of players at the table participating in thetournament with the remote players.

If desired, there can be spectators to the tournament play via machines100. The players at such spectator machines may decide only to watch atournament and not participate. In this case, such spectator machineswould view the game play. To increase interest, the spectator machinesare preferably provided with the data of the highest current winningaccount after each game and the winning tournament amount or pointscore. However, such spectator machines would not be able to placewagers once the tournament starts.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of tournament play. In S401 a machine enters thetournament. This is accomplished by the player at the machine signing onto the tournament and establishing communication with the data processor310 and the casino distribution system 20. The player at a machine paysthe tournament entry fee, this being deducted from the machine accountor a new amount deposited, as described above. The unique identity ofeach machine that enters is set into the processor 310. Each machine 100entering the tournament follows this procedure. A player at the tablepays the fee and enters in the same manner.

The data processor 310 confirms the entry with the machine. In apreferred embodiment, the processor also sets up an account for eachmachine and table player and credits such account with a startingbalance of an agreed starting amount of money or predetermined number ofpoints. The processor also can send the starting account balance to eachmachine, preferably by communicating with the machine and writing thisinto the machine's microprocessor memory. Each tournament player paysthe same entry fee and receives the same number of money or pointscredited to his account. Each machine 100 that is to participate in thetournament signs in the same way. The data processor 310 can close theentry based on any given criteria such as time or number of players thathave entered.

In S402 a counter is programmed with the number of game plays that is tocomprise the tournament. This counter can be at the data processor 310and the game count information provided to each machine entered in thetournament. Alternatively, each machine can have its own counter.

In S403 a player at a machine interactively plays a game in the mannerdescribed with respect to FIGS. 1-2 and in S405 receives the winningresult data.

In S407 the machine account is updated by its microprocessor based onthe winning information received from the casino. That is, if the gameresult is a loss, the amount of funds or points wagered is deducted fromthe account at the machine. If the result is a win, then the winningamount of money or points is credited. If the game is odds based, thewinning amount credit is calculated based on the odds table stored inthe machine's microprocessor and this amount of money or points iscredited to the account. If the game being played does not have awinning payoff based on odds, then the machine microprocessor need nothave an odds table or if it has one it is not used. The amount availableto wager at each terminal is displayed and is available to wager in thenext succeeding game of the tournament.

In S409 the data processor 310 polls all of the machines 100 active inthe tournament after the end of each game or at an appropriate wageringpoint in a sequential type game, for its account balance data.Alternatively, each machine is programmed to send this data back to thedata processor 310. The data processor 310 keeps a running account ofthe running balances of the accounts of all the tournament activemachines including the table players.

After completion of a game, such as after the polling by processor 310,or upon the data processor receiving the account balance data from allactive machines, the counter of S402 decrements the established numberof games in the tournament by one. If the game count is locally kept atthe machine, then its counter is decremented upon its updated accountbalance data being polled or transmitted to the data processor 310.

In S411 the processor 310 sends data to all of the active terminals ofthe tournament current leader, that is, the current highest outstandingwinning money amount or point score. This will guide the tournamentplayers in making wagers in subsequent games. That is, a player will bekept apprised of what he has to bet against in order to win thetournament. This is basically equivalent to having players at a tableviewing the number and amount of chips available to each player. Themachine microprocessor 148 is programmed so that a wager greater thanthe running balance of funds or points cannot be placed. This step isoptional but is desirable. As previously described, the highest scoredata can be provided to spectator machines and also can be displayed atthe casino.

In S413, with the tournament play still in progress, any player that hasplayed the allotted amount of money or points is locked out from placingany further wagers. This is automatically done by the machinemicroprocessor 148 when the running account balance amount of a machinereaches zero. The data of the account balances of the machines kept atthe processor 310 also will show this and the processor will declaresuch account to be inactive. Players that have a positive data processorledger balance remain active in the tournament play.

In S415 the data processor determines from the stored account balancesif there is more than one active player remaining. If there is a YESdetermination, then the play continues and steps S403 through S413 arerepeated. After each game, the account ledger at the data processor isupdated, the most recent and current highest winning amount communicatedto all of the machines, the game play number status decremented and anymachine that has a zero account balance locked out from placing furtherwagers. If the determination in S415 is NO and there is only one playerleft, then that player is declared to be the winner in S417.

S419 determines from the counter S402 if the number of tournament gameshas been completed, that is the counter S402 is zero. If there is stillmore than one player remaining active, the data processor 310 determinesthe highest account balance or point score from its stored account ofbalances and declares the winner in S417. The data processor 310declares the tournament winner by notifying the winning machine andpreferably all of the other machines involved in the tournament and alsogives the winning amount or point score. The information also can betransmitted or made available to the spectator machines and/or anoutside agency, such as the tournament sponsor.

Tournament play at the remote machines can be used with a number ofgames that are played at the casino, such as roulette, craps, poker,etc. The machine touch screen 130 would be changed physically orelectronically to have the betting grid corresponding to the game beingplayed. The microprocessors at each machine would have an odds table asneeded for each of the games.

The tournament play described with respect to FIGS. 3-4 can beaccomplished using dedicated terminals or machines other than the dualpurpose machine 100 of FIG. 1. This is indicated in FIG. 3 by thedesignation of the item 100 being either a terminal or machine.Interactive tournament play also can be accomplished using the set topbox configuration described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No.6,575,834 in which a television set provides a video display and a settop box the computer or microprocessor based wagering and accountfunctions, this combination forming a terminal. The term machines isintended to include all of the foregoing insofar as tournament play isconcerned.

An alternative embodiment of tournament play is for the data processor310 to maintain a separate account for each machine entered in thetournament. The players view the game play at the casino as previouslydescribed. Wagers made by a player at a machine are transmitted to thedata processor and kept in the player's account. The data processorwould compute the wins and losses after each game of the tournament,update each player's account and preferably transmit the balance databack to each machine. This process could be duplicated at each machineif desired. The balance of each account is available at the dataprocessor so that the highest account balance can be determined aftereach game, a player with a zero balance locked out from further play anddeclaring the tournament winner. In this embodiment, only the dataprocessor really needs to receive winning result data from the casinobut it can be provided to each machine.

Specific features of the invention are shown in one or more of thedrawings for convenience only, as each feature may be combined withother features in accordance with the invention. Alternative embodimentswill be recognized by those skilled in the art and are intended to beincluded within the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the abovedescription should be construed as illustrating and not limiting thescope of the invention. All such obvious changes and modifications arewithin the patented scope of the appended claims.

1. A multi-use gaming machine for play of a game native to the machineand interactive play of a game taking place at a location remote fromsaid machine, comprising: a video display for displaying the play andresults of the native game played by a player at the machine; means forswitching said video display to display the progress of a game beingplayed at a location remote from said machine; and means for wagering onthe game being remotely played.
 2. The multi-use gaming machine asclaimed in claim 1 wherein said remote location comprises: a camera toview the game action and means at the location for producing game resultdata; and distribution means for broadcasting from the location to themachine the output of the camera view, said game result data of a gameplayed at the location; and said machine further comprises: (a) areceiver for receiving the output broadcast from said distribution meanof said location of said camera view which is displayed on said machinevideo display and said game result data; and (b) touch screen means fordisplaying an electronic representation of the game being played at theremote location and for placing wagers on the game being played.
 3. Themulti-use gaming machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein said machinefurther comprises: (c) computer means responsive to a wager made fromsaid touch screen and for managing the account of the player in responseto the received game result data for computing losing and winningamounts.
 4. The multi-use gaming machine as claimed in claim 3 whereinsaid machine computer means also updates the account of the player atthe machine based on computed losses and winning amounts and maintains acurrent account balance for the player at the machine.
 5. The multi-usegaming machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein said machine computer meansincludes a memory for storing data of a table of betting odds andcomputes a winning amount based on the amount of the wager placed on thegame being played and betting odds data stored.
 6. The multi-use gamingmachine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said machine further comprises ameans for establishing a betting account for the player at the machinewithout communication from the machine to the remote location.
 7. Themulti-use gaming machine as claimed in claim 6 wherein said means forestablishing a betting account includes one of a currency acceptor and acompatible reader means for any one of a credit card, debit card orvoucher.
 8. The multi-use gaming machine as claimed in claim 3 andfurther comprising: means at the location for producing wagering statussignals representing the close of wagering on a game and the start ofplaying of a new game which are broadcast to said machine and receivedby said receiver of said machine, the received wagering status signalsused by said machine computer means to control said means for wagering.9. The multi-use gaming machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein saiddistribution means for broadcasting from the location to a machineincludes one of cable, wired communication, wireless, satellite and theInternet.
 10. The multi-use gaming machine as claimed in claim 3 whereinthere are a plurality of said machines, and further comprising: dataprocessor means; and a communication link for providing communicationbetween said plurality of machines and said data processor means bywhich after completion of a game the amount in the player's account ofeach of said machines is obtained and stored by said data processormeans.
 11. The multi-use gaming machine as claimed in claim 10 furthercomprising: counter means for setting a predetermined number of gamesfor tournament play between said plurality of machines; wherein saiddata processor means further comprises means for determining from saidledger the machine having the highest account balance after each gameand for determining the tournament winner based on only one machinehaving a running account with a positive balance prior to the completionof said predetermined number of games or the machine having the highestbalance after said predetermined number of games has been completed. 12.The multi-use gaming machine as claimed in claim 10 wherein said dataprocessor means includes means to determine the highest account balanceamong the account balances of all of said plurality of machines andcommunicates to all of said plurality of machines the highest accountbalance for display on the said machine video display of a said machine.13. The multi-use gaming machine as claimed in claim 12 furthercomprising: counter means for setting a predetermined number of gamesfor tournament play between said plurality of machines; wherein saiddata processor means further comprises means for determining from saidledger the machine having the highest account balance after each gameand for determining the tournament winner based on only one machinehaving a running account with a positive balance prior to the completionof said predetermined number of games or the machine having the highestbalance after said predetermined number of games has been completed. 14.A system for tournament play between a plurality of machines locatedremotely from the place at which the game is being played, wherein saidremote location comprises: a camera to view the game action; means forproducing game result data; distribution means for broadcasting from thelocation to said plurality of machines the output of the camera view andsaid game result data; and each said machine comprises: (a) receivermeans for receiving the output broadcast from said distribution mean ofsaid location of said camera view and said game result data; (b) displaymeans for displaying said location camera view; and (c) means forwagering on the game being remotely played; and (d) computer means; saidsystem further comprising: a data processor means; and a communicationlink connecting said plurality of machines to said data processor means;wherein at least one of said data processor means and said machinecomputer means is responsive to a wager made at a machine and inresponse to the received game result data compute losses and winningamounts and manages the account of the machine to maintain a runningbalance for the machine; wherein said data processor means obtains therunning account balance of each of said plurality of machines aftercompletion of a game; and said data processor means further comprisingmeans for determining the machine having the highest account balanceafter each game.
 15. The systems as claimed in claim 14 and furthercomprising: counter means for setting a predetermined number of gamesfor a tournament; and wherein said means for determining is responsiveto said counter means and declares the tournament winner based on onlyone machine having a running account with a positive balance prior tothe completion of said predetermined number of games or the machinehaving the highest balance after said predetermined number of games hasbeen completed.
 16. The system as claimed in claim 14 wherein said dataprocessor means for determining also communicates the highest accountbalance among the account balances of all of said plurality of machinesto all of said plurality of machines for display on the said videodisplay of a machine.
 17. The system as claimed in claim 15 wherein saiddata processor means for determining also communicates the highestaccount balance among the account balances of all of said plurality ofmachines to all of said plurality of machines for display on the saidvideo display of a machine.
 18. The system as claimed in claim 14wherein each said machine further comprises touch screen means fordisplaying an electronic representation of the game being played forplacing a wager on the game being played.
 19. The system as claimed inclaim 14 and further comprising: means at the location for producingwagering status signals representing the close of wagering on a game andthe start of playing of a new game which are broadcast; and wherein atleast one of to said machine computer means and said data processingmeans is responsive to received wagering status signals to control saidmeans for wagering of a said machine.
 20. The system as claimed in claim14 wherein at least one of said plurality of machines further comprises:means for playing a game native to the machine; and means for switchingsaid means for playing and said video display of said at least onemachine between playing the native game and displaying its progress andresults and playing a game at a location remote from said machine; anddisplaying its progress.